Over 100 citizens from India and Pakistan urged the Prime Ministers of both nations to take meaningful and sustained steps towards restoring peace, normalcy, dialogue and cooperation.
They endorsed an open letter, issued by the Centre for Peace and Progress seeking restoration of full diplomatic relations and reinstatement of High Commissioners in New Delhi and Islamabad. They also sought resumption of normal visa services for citizens of both countries.
In the letter, they called for an end to continued hostility that they said is depriving millions of young people on both sides of opportunities, prosperity and a secure future.
National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, RJD MP Manoj Jha, former TMC minister and current AJUP leader Humayun Kabir were on the list of 61 signatories on the letter from India.
On the Pakistan side, the 56 signatories included political figures such as former Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, diplomat Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, National Assembly member Isphanyar Bhandara, as well as nuclear physicist and author Pervez Hoodbhoy.
“India and Pakistan together are home to nearly one-fifth of humanity. A large proportion of our population is young…The people of both countries deserve a future defined by peace, development, connectivity and cooperation, rather than perpetual mistrust and confrontation,” the letter stated.
It also called for the reopening of a comprehensive bilateral dialogue on all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, and suggested revisiting the framework negotiated between 2004 and 2007. The signatories proposed steps towards demilitarisation and de-escalation to build lasting peace in the region, while addressing the “legitimate security concerns of both countries.”
They further recommended reopening the Attari-Wagah land border for trade and travel, restoring the Srinagar–Muzaffarabad bus service, and introducing other connectivity initiatives. The letter also called for reopening airspace for commercial flights to reduce travel time and costs and improve regional connectivity.
In addition, it urged the reopening of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor as a key confidence-building measure, along with opening the Sharada Peeth in Pakistan’s Neelum Valley—an important site for Kashmiri Pandits—and facilitating access to religious and cultural heritage sites on both sides of the border.
“We respectfully request you to listen to the aspirations of common people and choose engagement over isolation, dialogue over hostility and cooperation over confrontation. The future of South Asia should be shaped not by division and conflict, but by peace, prosperity and shared progress,” it said.
